Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 16:34:56 +0100
Subject: Portillo accused of hypocrisy and homophobia
From: OW-jgh
OutRage! has accused the former Conservative MP
and ex-Defence Secretary, Michael Portillo, of "hypocrisy and homophobia".
The gay rights group was responding to Mr. Portillo's self-outing
in an interview in "The Times" newspaper.
Portillo is widely tipped as a potential future Conservative
party leader and Prime Minister. He is the most senior Tory MP
to admit to having gay sex; although he claims he has not had sexual
relations with men since he entered public life a generation ago.
Following Mr. Portillo's revelation of his past gay
relationships, Peter Tatchell of OutRage! said:
"Michael Portillo is a hypocrite and homophobe. Despite his
own gay relationships, he has consistently opposed gay human rights
and has never shown any sympathy or support for the gay community.
"Portillo is no friend of queer people. He voted for
Section 28, against an equal age of consent and, as Defence Secretary,
he enforced the ban on lesbians and gays in the armed forces.
"His homosexuality should not be used to bar his selection
as a Tory candidate. It is his homophobia that renders him unfit
and unworthy to hold public office."
Just before the 1997 General Election, OutRage! erected
a giant billboard in Portillo's constituency emblazoned with the words:
'Portillo Screws Queer Soldiers', and simultaneously leafleted local
voters about his anti-gay record in Parliament.
The preceeding summer of 1996, on the occasion of the annual
Pride March, OutRage! erected the same billboard at the end of
Whitehall, near the House of Commons, in protest at his policy,
as Defence Secretary, of witch-hunting of lesbian and gay military
personnel.
On the night parliament voted against an equal age of consent
in 1994, when news of the defeat on equality came through,
5,000 lesbians and gays massed outside the House of Commons
spontaneously broke into a chant of 'Portillo is a faggot',
furious that he voted against equalisation at 16.
"OutRage! had Portillo on its outing hit-list because of his
homphobia and hypocrisy. Under Britain's draconian libel laws,
we could not name him because there was no one prepared to go public
with what they knew about his secret gay life.
Now he has outed himself.
"What a pity Michael is still refusing to say anything positive
about gay life and relationships. His continued unwillingness
to express any empathy for the lesbian and gay community shows
that he remains a cold-hearted, compassionless homophobe.
"If he really cares, why doesn't he speak out against
antigay discrimination?
"Portillo has not changed. His dismissal of his past
homosexual affairs as youthful experiences implies that he views
gay relationships as an immature indiscretion", said Tatchell.
"He has evaded the truth for a quarter of a century.
How do we know he is now telling the truth when he claims
that he has not had gay sex since he entered public life?
"It is very unusual for someone who has had an eight-year
gay affair, as Portillo had with Nigel Hart, to suddenly cease being
homosexual. Even if they subsequently marry, these men tend to have
occasional, discreet gay relations throughout the rest of their lives.
I would be extremely surprised if Mr. Portillo has, as he claims,
never had sex with a man in the last 25 years", said Peter Tatchell.
A copy of this press release is available at:
http://www.OutRage.org.uk/portillo99.htm
together with links to related pages and other sites.
For details of the 1997 zap of Portillo's constituency, see:
http://www.OutRage.org.uk/enfield.htm
--
You may leave this list automatically by sending a message to
list-processor@diversity.org.uk, containing a line that says
unsubscribe outrage-world
The 'lists' command will give information about other services